All zipped up?

Nowadays on aeroplanes, the aircrew check that our seat belts are on but previously the crew might have asked to check that the plane is zipped up.
Inside the Dominie Rapides there were zips from the nose down to the tail under the fuselage in order to examine the electrics. These planes were first used in 1934 and were commonly used for short haul transport throughout the world. This plane, which is made of a wooden frame covered in canvas, is one of several old planes dating mainly from the 1920s and 30s, which are kept in airworthy condition at the Croyden Aircraft Company in NZ. We saw work being carried out by highly skilled technicians using original specifications and types of materials such as spruce which is light but strong, in order to restore different types of plane.

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